


Raw

by hopefever



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Cannibalism, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Original Character(s), SEP era, Slow Burn, Trans Character, Trans Soldier: 76 | Jack Morrison, serum effects
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-12
Updated: 2019-04-23
Packaged: 2020-01-12 04:17:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 20,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18438854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hopefever/pseuds/hopefever
Summary: The Soldier Enhancement Programme, Jack had been skeptical at first. He'd not been in the military very long at all, a year and a half at most making him only nineteen, before he was all but forced into the government scheme that was supposed to 'save' humanity.Genetic enhancements alone were dubious, what he hadn't expected was for it to spark up a hidden secret of his own genetics that had been hidden from him his whole life.Concept based on the french movie 'Raw'.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was written as an RP so Jack and Gabe's perspectives are alternating with Gabriel in italics and Jack normal.
> 
> Also while it's not how Jack is written intentionally, I will give a fair ED warning with how his thought patterns etc are written in regards to certain things.

_Gabriel knew the name, vaguely. It had gradually resonated through the ranks like a crescendo starting August 2040 and by the time the new year arrived, and with it the reveal of the Soldier Enhancement Program, he'd heard nothing but. The youngest member. A real spectacle of heroism. Apparently. Gabriel had decided he was a reprobate, a kid with his flax-coloured head stuck in the clouds, as blonde as the Hoosier wheat-meadows he'd apparently been harvested from._

_So resentment was a stretch, but Gabriel was certainly sceptical._

_Besides reputation his actual knowledge of Jack Morrison was paltry, in every sense of the word. He didn't know if any of his family had served, of his military background, whether he'd fought abroad in the metastasizing Omnic terrorism sweeping the globe. It had yet to reach America._

_That was why they were here, having voluntarily sold their bodies to be genetically transmuted when it turned out men could be engineered just like machines._

_Once the nurse had finished swabbing his arm with alcohol he began to speak over the beep of his heart rate monitor; its presence alongside the defibrillator and the bottles of crude adrenaline on the other side of the room somewhat unsettling. The first was only an injection, he knew the infusions to come would place a greater stress on his body but regardless it all seemed undue considering. Seemed there were more side-effects than administration had let on; fucking cardiac arrest, for example._

_They were elite soldiers, however. Precious, unique assets that, though not indisposable, were hard to come by. The primary effects of the serum; it would work and it would work_ well _. Just seemed they were willing to take their chances on whatever casualties befell the unlucky few._

_Can't take the heat then get out of the kitchen, etcetera, etcetera. He'd steeled himself for this, consequences be damned._

_"...So, that natural or what?" Gabriel said, gesturing loosely to Jack's hair where he lay beside him in the adjacent hospital bed. With being assigned and shepherded immediately into the IM wing they'd not had time for eye-contact, let alone a conversation._

_The nurse returned with a push-trolley and began to assemble the needle as they spoke. He let his eyes drift to the sallow-orange vial nestled in a polystyrene pocket on the tray._

 

The Soldier Enhancement Programme, Jack had been skeptical at first. He'd not been in the military very long at all, a year and a half at most making him only nineteen, before he was all but forced into the government scheme that was supposed to 'save' humanity. He wasn't sure how much credit there was to that but it was a once in a lifetime opportunity for a nobody like him.

In the end it _was_ his decision to join, despite the pushing and lectures about what an opportunity it was from his Commanding Officers, his understanding of what it could contribute to the war effort made it hard to refuse. Apparently he'd been recommended by many of them for the programme and with his 'reputation' he'd been asked for specifically. Or maybe he was just a disposable newbie that would make a good test subject. That was more likely.

But here he was. He hadn't been told a lot of the technicalities of the serum he would be given over the next few months only that it would make him stronger, a world class soldier. No one had told him exactly what would happen to his body or what the possible side effects were, maybe they weren't supposed to know before hand in case they backed out. Don't get him wrong he _was_ excited despite the dubiousness of becoming a medical experiment for the United States government. Lab rats in other words.

With the risk of the Omnic Crisis spreading to become a global affair there was a certain hope in having the chance to be one who could help save it. He'd fight for his country just as he would fight for humanity.

That's what he kept running through his mind as the first injection was administered. At least he wasn't afraid of needles.

After being assigned his partner- Reyes, he thinks his name was- they'd been sent straight for their first injection. No introduction, no welcome speech, straight down to business. From the brief glance he got at the other soldiers in the programme he'd already determined he was one of, if not _the_ youngest there. His partner looked to have at least a few years on him and with a lot more experience and skill.

He didn't want to admit that his new partner intimidated him but being in the military even a short time you knew about other senior officers and Reyes was the best of the best. He wanted to be able to match him, to hold his own. He didn't want to be and refused to be a burden.

It almost made him jump out of his skin when Reyes' voice snapped him out of his thoughts, so consumed in his own head. "Is what- Oh. Yeah it is. Not a lot of time for vanity in the military," he choked out, clearing his throat before speaking again.

"I'm Jack by the way. Uh, Jack Morrison."

 

_The needle slid through his antecubital space and Gabriel watched the orange liquid steadily deplete. After the nurse had taken it out he rolled his wrist, flexed his fingers._

_At the introduction, Gabriel glanced across. He wrinkled his nose a little and the scar running through the bridge of it bunched._

_"Yeah, I know."_

_He could tell he was making him nervous. Or at least contributing to the aura of apprehension he had about him, tripping over speech, twitching to attention when pulled from his reverie. As Gabriel had said. Head in the clouds._

_Up close he looked barely a couple years off eighteen; he'd hazard a guess there was a four, maybe five, year difference between them. Perhaps in civilian life it would be risible to mention but it made all the difference in service. All the sedulous work ethic and courage in the world couldn't account for experience. It meant partnership with a rookie._

_"You're lucky to be here. Looks like you made friends in the right places, eh?"_

_Maybe he should cut Morrison some slack but the partner program had befouled Gabriel's inauguration into SEP, mostly because he disliked working intimately with others. Partners? What was this, middle school? He didn't play particularly nice in a unit, did better in espionage, positions of command. People said he was obstinate, sure, whatever. He was successful, his methods efficient, he got the job done and he did it very,_ very _well._

_That and Gabriel was starting to feel a little queasy. At least he was fairing better than the female soldier in the bed opposite that had started retching five minutes in._

_It had taken the same amount of time for his vision to blur and shudder like a television with poor reception._

 

“I don’t know about that,” he responded, wary. What was he supposed to say to that? "Or maybe they just see me as disposable in case this all goes horribly wrong," he mumbled as an afterthought.

He kept quiet after that, wanting to get off to a good start with his new partner but sensed he'd already fucked it up just by being himself.

He hadn't expected SEP to require partnering, apart from obvious training Jack wasn't sure what benefit it would have. He was still apprehensive about working with Reyes, although Jack was good at working in teams and tended to pull more than his own weight in squads nobody seemed to like working with him. They seemed to think he was doing it to show off or show them up or some crap. Which wasn't true Jack was just trying to carry out the mission. He couldn't tell a lot about Reyes from looking at him, the scars adorning his profile told him he'd seen numerous battles, he also didn't seem the type for light conversation either or maybe he just didn't like Jack already.

He wanted to get along but he wasn't necessarily looking to make friends.

Apparently they would be sharing private living quarters too which confused him even more. Compared to what he was used to living in barracks with dozens of other soldiers it was an honest to God luxury. He wondered idly if it was the sort of thing Reyes was used to, being a senior officer. From what he could tell of the crisp, seemingly untouched hospital sheets and state of the art technology, the government had really splashed out on them.

Fifteen minutes after the shot had been administered Jack was feeling incredibly light headed. He hadn't even realised how much time had passed before the same nurse came back and told him he could leave and head to his new quarters. He'd been too focused on the sensation of his blood coursing and pumping through his veins, an intense and overwhelming feeling making him incredibly hypersensitive as he stood. The lights suddenly too bright.

As he stumbled out of the med bay he realised that he had absolutely no idea where he was going. He was sure they'd been shown the direction of the dorms in passing on the way here but he couldn't for the life of him remember where they were. Somewhere passed the gym... but he didn't know the direction of the gym.

"You have any idea which way the dorms are? I have no fucking clue," he asked turning to Reyes who had been dismissed at the same time as him and he was sure would have a better idea than he did.

 

_Never thought he'd hear such overt self-deprecation straight from the horse's mouth. Maybe Morrison was right, maybe he was a plant. Somebody they'd taken a chance on._

_Gabriel wasn't interested in hearing a capring ballad and so all he did was scoff._

_When told to leave by the medical technicians he too was disorientated; by the blood rushing in his ears, his body homoregulating to nuances in temperature, the surplus of warm saliva over his tongue he had to keep swallowing. Seems whatever chemical he'd let them pump into him didn't discriminate based on rank._

_He was walking behind Jack, who was trying his best not to wobble like a drunkard, on the route to their rooms and rolled his eyes at the question._

_"Through the foyer outside the inside shooting range, past the gym-- just follow me. Keep up."_

_It was a statement that held a greater meaning. But for now, it just meant stay close behind as Gabriel strode through the building until they arrived at their room and he slapped a keycard against the contact reader. The brief look he got at his hands showed their tremor and he squeezed them into fists._

_Inside was a humble living space for them to share; sofa's, a television, bookshelf, and to the far side was what appeared to be a small kitchen. With a sink. Gabriel made a beeline for it and ran the tap, stretched to take a cup from the top cabinet._

 

Jack had wanted to head straight to his new bed and pass out but upon seeing that they had a fridge in their shared space he made an unscheduled but much needed detour. He hadn't noticed but his stomach was growling up a storm, one like he hadn't eaten in weeks. It was probably a side effect along with the lightheadedness and disorientation.

The initial shot was only a small dose to get them used to the serum, he expected that the symptoms would get much more severe when they upped the dose.

He wasn't sure what he'd been expecting when he opened up the small fridge. It was mostly protein bars, shakes, a lot of regulation stuff that would help build muscle and fulfil their calorie intake as well as being highly nutritious. Nothing in particular to cater to Jack’s own dietary requirements and what he could find was barely enough to quell his hunger.

"For fucks sake," he muttered to himself.

Grabbing a few protein bars that seemed alright, he shut the fridge with an annoyed huff.

Reyes wasn't in the main space when he turned around and he figured he'd do the same and head to bed. On shaky legs he opened the door on the right, ripping through his second health bar as he did so, only to find the room was already occupied by Reyes who looked at him in annoyance.

"Shit sorry." He stammered out.

 

_The water had alleviated the nausea but Morrison's eyes were too blue where he stood in the doorway, his hair too blonde, the light from the kitchen similarly too bright._

_They'd been allowed limited luggage and Gabriel had been in the midst of unpacking. There was a period of silence with Morrison visibly uncomfortable by the lack of acknowledgement by the faux pas. He looked like a fucking idiot with food balled up in one cheek._

_Finally Gabriel set down the Lakers shirt he slept in and addressed him._

_"No pasa nada," Gabriel replied, annoyance made explicit despite his assurance against. He looked to the protein bar Morrison was clearly not finished with._

_"You finished with that?"_

 

"Uhh..." he looked down at the food still in his hand, stomach growling persistently as he did. "Why, you want it?"

He hadn’t finished with it, no. But he didn’t want to come off as a dick from the get go, obviously the food in the small kitchen was theirs to share and Jack had no right to claim all of it. Offering it was a reflex Jack had even at a detriment to himself.

There was probably more of a variety in the cafeteria but he couldn't trust his trembling legs to get him there or his scrambled mind to find it.

"These are pretty mediocre though, not much there," he commented, taking another bite still standing in the doorway. He couldn't help but feel he was intruding.

 

_Gabriel was not going to extort an energy bar from his roommate on his first night. Though it took some mental gymnastics to ratiocinate not being completely petty because of his own hang-ups._

_Plus, even with youth accounted for, he was scrawnier than the majority of them. It looked like he needed it._

_The corner of his lip tugged up, unable to find the ostensible reply alongside his own ruminations anything but funny._

_"No need for the spiel, cadet. Could've just said that you ain't finished with it."_

_Gabriel reached to unpack his electric razor but upon bending down the world bobbed and rolled like a ship. He blinked hard to rid himself of the spinning situation before straightening and reaching for his pajama-shirt._

_"We done?"_

 

"Yeah sorry, I'll get out of your hair" Jack apologised before stepping shutting the door behind him.

Returning to his own room he threw himself down into his new bed, not even bothering to sort through his stuff or change into bed clothes. He ate through all the protein bars throwing the wrappers on the floor beside him. Not good military practise but he was too exhausted to get up and find a bin anywhere.

Fuck he was tired, he'd been almost giddy with nerves when he'd arrived and it'd only been a few hours. The injections were something else, even on such a small dose.

He tried to reflect on his first day but his brain couldn't form anything coherent other than the fact that he'd already likely made his roommate hate him and they'd barely even had a proper conversation.

It didn't take long for him to pass out after that.

 

\--

 

_They were due for induction at seven and whilst waking before the birds did was never fun, so to say, but he'd become accustomed to it. After that came lunch and then plain-and-clean sparring. And so that was why Gabriel was shucking his duvet and cramming his hat over his curls at the ass-crack of dawn. Still wasn't much of a morning person._

_The fridge was were stocked with the sorts he'd expected, all the standard components of the protein-rich diet he'd been told to follow under conventional service but never had. Well, not stringently. But he'd sure mourn the loss of trans-fats._

_The nutritional requirements were fairly regulated but he supposed any gluttony or deficiency would be observed in their medicals. They'd have three-meals a day served but on their regime it would behest more._

_Instead of food Gabriel fixed himself a coffee before sparing a glance at Morrison when he'd exited from his room._

 

As much as everyone liked to believe he was just by looking at him, Jack was also not a morning person.

His body still ached slightly from yesterday's injection but mostly his appetite was huge and he couldn't get to the cafeteria fast enough.

Shucking on his clothes and brushing his teeth in the shared bathroom, he decided to forego the shower for now, it could wait til after breakfast. He muffled a quick 'morning' to Reyes on his way out. Pausing to smell the freshly brewed coffee but deciding against it in favour of his stomach.

He made it to the cafeteria in one piece. Turns out the blinding white hallways actually did have signs that he'd missed yesterday.

As he'd suspected the cafeterias spread was a lot more varied and Jack was drooling. He grabbed a handful of fruit, some toast and a heaped bowl of cereal before looking for somewhere to sit. Surprisingly a lot of the other recruits were also up at this hour and the seating area was largely occupied. He didn't know anybody else here and staring at full tables of steadily chatting groups made him self conscious and nervous.

Luckily there were a few empty tables at the back so Jack made a beeline, sitting in solitude as he dug in, finally quelling his growling stomach.

 

_After a quick, scalding shower Gabriel was in the cafeteria too._

_The uniform was still starchy with how recently it had been manufactured and still smelled like the factory, and didn't they all look like something off the assembly line too. It was difficult to pick out any familiar faces amongst the bottle-green shirts but after he'd secured a small buffet from the serving station he was waved over by another officer he'd been acquainted with in Intel Corps, her partner beside her._

_"You got enough food there, Reyes?" she quipped as he dropped his tray._

_"Speak for yourself."_

_He'd constructed a monumental sandwich of toast, eggs, avocado and slabs of ham piled two inches thick alongside diced beef and a Greek yoghurt. The taste-test of serum he'd had yesterday had left him ravenous; exerting his body even without express physical activity._

_They conversed leisurely until she nudged his elbow and nodded to where Jack sat a few rows back._

_"You got Morrison, didn't you? He looks a little lost over there."_

_"I didn't sign up for babysitting, man," Gabriel replied noncommittally before turning his attention back to his breakfast._

 

_\--_

 

_Induction was everything he'd expected. Boring and administrative. He got his training timetable; the day was packed but they had down-time in the evening after dinner for leisure, socialisation, additional self-exercise. Turns out the place even had a goddamn' simulation chamber._

_It wasn't stringent, however. It was their schedule unless the superintendents decided otherwise, change it up with a different training objective or to deploy them on a field mission. They were to do as they were told._

_And first up was sparring._

_A guy he knew very vaguely as a lieutenant from a naval base helped scrape his partners and his partners pride up from the ring as their fight came to a conclusion. Gabriel had been watching with his arms folded across his chest when he heard his name called._

_"Reyes and Morrison. You're up.”_

 

Outside of mandatory initiation paperwork, blood tests etc most of Jack's day was spent eating. Grabbing snacks from either the cafeteria or their private kitchen in between his new schedule. Most of the other minor side effects had worn off already except for his rampant hunger and it was never really satisfied.

After breakfast he'd sat with another girl around his age, maybe only a year older, through orientation making light conversation. Pinto, her name was. Like him she wasn't highly ranked but was an expert in her field, she'd worked hard to get into the programme and Jack respected that.

She sat with him now as they waited for their names to be called. It was an initial test, they wouldn't always be observed while sparring but the officials needed the gage their initial skills and reflexes for comparison later.

When his name was called he approached the mat with confidence. He was sure of his own skills but he'd never personally seen Reyes in action, only heard stories. He wouldn't let himself get intimidated. He'd said he'd wanted to prove that he could hold himself, that he belonged here and he would.

Jack himself was quite lean, he had a fair bit of muscle, arms and calves mainly from track in high school and a lot of heavy lifting on the farm. But this early on in the programme he was still fairly scrawny. Or at least he felt especially so when stood facing Reyes who already had a strong build and a few inches on him.

Taking a deep breath Jack assumed a fighting stance but his eyes kept drifting from the other mans face to the way his regulation shirt clung to his hips, fairly decent abs visible through the fabric.

 

_Like everything else within the facility the ring was brand new and the mat not yet been weathered by blood and sweat and entangled bodies. It felt supple under the balls of Gabriel's feet when he rolled back on them._

_Neither moved when their supervising superintendent gave them the green-light._

_"...Come on, Morrison. Cold feet?"_

_He snapped his own fist forward in a feint and watched Jack start. And then bristle. The desire to take him down a notch was so_ strong _; good, salt-of-the-earth farm boy, he had been sick to the back teeth of hearing about how the sun shined out of his ass long before he'd even met the guy._

_"Need me to talk you through it, chamaco?" he muttered, the second taunt excluded from the ears of the masses, crackling through the tension between himself and Jack. Absentmindedly he popped the bones in his knuckles, from ring-finger to thumb._

 

Jack frowned. He didn't tend to rise to people's taunts, felt it was a waste of energy but Reyes got his blood pressure rising. He hated being looked down on and just because he was the youngest here didn't mean he was weak or needed to be babied.

"Don't underestimate me, Reyes," he said before throwing a few of his own punches. If he wasn't able to win his partners favour through conversation he'd try with his fists.

For the most part they were expertly blocked but equally Jack was able to block Reyes advances. Reyes was good but that didn’t mean Jack had no potential of winning.

More and more sweat built up as they sparred and Jacks lightheadedness was returning. He could smell the heat radiating off of the other and as he got closer or was held in a tight hold it got overwhelming, to the point where heat rose to Jacks own cheeks and he felt embarrassed for concentrating on that as opposed to the fight at hand.

Skin met skin and the sweat had their bodies sliding against each other where they made contact.

 

_Where Gabriel had just blocked a jab he peeked behind his sweat-slick forearms and arched an eyebrow._

_"You're lookin' a little red in the face," he breathed._

_His pulse jackhammering in his neck was his body's private metronome to coordinate offense and defense, like a snare beat in a war dance. Sweat ran down his temple and into his beard, rivulets disappeared down the neckline of his shirt but most of it was on Jack where they were now almost wrestling._

_He delivered a punch in the ribs and received a punch in the gut, which he blocked, and it was then Morrison took him by surprise. The man had already swung for his head and it met its mark and made his ears ring._

_"Motherfucker--"_

_The reaction came just as fast, he swung a foot and took Morrison's legs out from beneath them and then they were on the floor, kicking, punching, rolling. He used his weight as an advantage by levering himself onto Jack's hips, breathing hard through his nose, and straddling them to pin his legs. He felt a hand fist itself into his shirt and he responded in kind, wound his fist back and was about to let it fly until he heard a, "That's enough."_

_Gabriel didn't move immediately but slackened, reclined back a little against Jack's knees to catch his breath and blink the stars from his eyes. He gave the other man a long, slightly odd look before releasing his already lax hold on his shirt, shrugging, and sighing._

_"And just when it was about to get good."_

_The thought to offer his hand for the other to haul himself up with flitted through his mind but he dismissed it and got up without further acknowledgment._

 

Jack collapsed back staring up at the gym ceiling as he caught his breath, wiping the sweat from his brow.

He'd definitely need another shower today.

He lifted himself up just in time to see Reyes exit the gym without another word to anyone else. Grabbing his water bottle Jack jogged after to catch him as he made his way en route to the dorms.

"Hey, uh, good fight back there man." There hadn't really been a winner considering they were stopped before they could really hash it out which had frustrated him but he was glad to have been able to prove some of his ability.

"Want to swing by the cafeteria together before heading back to the dorms? I don't know about you but I'm starving and the shit in our fridge is... well, shit." he offered figuring he may as well extend the first hand in friendship as Reyes sure as hell wasn't.

 

_Gabriel knew the approaching footsteps was Morrison before turning and he groaned inwardly as well as outwardly. He kept from interrupting but once Morrison had finished he stopped abruptly and spun around to face him._

_"You know, there's nothing in the handbook they gave us that said we had to be friends."_

_Jack stopped too and Gabriel caught a look of mild bemusement. Not at the words, surely; Gabriel had already outlined that in all but writing. The confrontation._

_"Listen, let me get one thing straight," he clasped his fingers together into a farcical pose of prayer and breathed in sharply behind them. "You don't need to suck-up to me, we just need to work as a unit on deployments."_

_"Com-pren-de?" Gabriel tilted his head in opposite directions at each syllable. He stood like that for a second before resuming his path down the walkway. The footsteps followed but a little further behind him, a little less enthusiastic. Fucks sake._

_Gabriel sighed. He took his beanie off and pushed his fingers through the sweaty curls of hair. He bunched the hat in one fist. He sighed again._

_"...What, protein-bars not good enough for Golden Boy?"_

_There was still a tension in Gabriel's voice but it was no longer argumentative, more poking innocuous fun. He dropped back to walk more or less beside Morrison._

 

A spike of annoyance ran through him before Reyes fell back into step beside him.

"I'm not trying to suck up to you... fucking hell that's all anyone ever thinks I'm doing," his words were strained and he couldn't stop himself from sounding obviously pissed off. "We're gonna be partners for a while, we might as well get along... that's all. Not saying we have to be best friends or whatever you think I'm after."

The walk now felt rather tense, he wasn't going to force friendship on the other in the slightest and already felt that his presence was completely unwanted even if he was keeping quiet.

"They're not bad just, too many meat products. Wish they had more vegetarian stuff," he added, ignoring the golden boy comment that put him out slightly.

They'd almost reached the cafeteria and he had to choose between keeping up the strained conversation they'd started or listening to his stomach and diverging off. His body leaning towards the latter.

 

_"I think you're naive. I think you're try-hard. I've heard the hearsay, I've read the reports, I've met you in person and I don't get what all the fuckin' fuss is about," Gabriel replied, because LA crass made tactless remarks difficult to swallow._

_At that Morrison looked like he was about about to storm off and Gabriel would've let him too, if the vegetarian comment that his brain had circumvented in favour of an argument hadn't finally grabbed his attention._

_"Wait, wait. Hold up, what?"_

_Maybe he was now being an intentional asshole. But he couldn't help the smile that unintentionally crept onto his face; the first expression that wasn't sullen directed at Morrison and he was laughing at him._

_"...I think there's a misunderstanding. You're...a vegetarian?"_

 

At the others tone Jack came up defensive.

"Yeah so what? It was how I was raised, just because I grew up on a farm doesn't mean we always eat the animals we keep." In fact he'd always thought it made more sense that they didn't.

He hardly saw how it was a reason for mockery but people always seemed to poke fun at him for it anyway. Especially in the military.

Not like he really cared, it was his own choice.

They'd both stopped, pulled up short just outside the entrance to the cafeteria. Jack could smell the welcoming spread just behind the doors but kept his feet firmly planted where they were.

"And I'm just trying my best here man, it's not like I wanted everyone to kick up a fuss about me."

 

_"Uh-huh, but don't you think specific nutrition is pretty important in, y'know, genetic modification? Does admin know?"_

_Morrison's expression said it all._

_It seemed that he had facets of his identity he kept private from the government and it threatened to put a dent in the malleable pet-project Gabriel had judged him to be. Somehow, alongside his reply, it made his temper flair._

_"So, what, you_ don't _think you're hot shit? This humble, disparaging show isn't worth anything either; if it's not a front, then quit stressing yourself out wondering how high to jump for what people. It's irritating to look at."_

_Gabriel was raising his voice a little and a couple soldiers passing by glanced across. He reigned it in but there was still a venom in his tone._

_"But if you think you're so disposable then go home, kid. Or prove to yourself that you belong here, not because of no fuckin' superintendent."_

_Gabriel straightened and let the tension melt from his shoulders. It was such a waste of energy getting worked up about shit like this. He'd have to work on it, he guessed._

_"Whatever, I lost my appetite," was his farewell as slid his hands into his pockets and turned and began to retrace their steps. He_ was _in need of a hot shower anyways._

 

He'd seen no reason to inform anybody of his dietary preferences, didn't really see how it would affect his performance in the program. Being vegetarian all his life he was perfectly capable of supplementing his dietary requirements in other things than meat.

Why would Reyes give a shit what he ate if he didn't even give a shit about Jack anyway.

Jack wasn't sure exactly what it was he'd done to make Reyes hate him so much. He tried analysing his own behaviour but all he'd done was try to make idle conversation with the guy, there'd been no other intent behind it. Or maybe Reyes had already made his own opinion of him and nothing he did could change that.

It frustrated him but he no longer cared. If the other man had decided he didn't like him that was his own problem.

After grabbing what he could from the canteen he hauled it back to the dorms where he ate through it all on their shared couch while he waited for Reyes to get out of the shower so he could take his own.

When he eventually came out Jack didn't bother speaking to him, he didn't even spare him a glance as he made his way into the bathroom.


	2. Chapter 2

_Though individually they were exemplary, their teamwork didn't quite echo the same successes._

_They didn't fight furiously, most of the time. The first few days whenever they sparred it was stoked by underlying hostility and the hot showers that followed became worthwhile not only for sluicing off sweat but for soothing the bruises._

_In competitive drills Gabriel found that Morrison inspired him to push himself in his effort to push his partner to his limits and beyond; lift more, run faster, aim better. No, 'you win some, you lose some', that's not you, is it? Golden Boy. He was censorious, but only of Morrison; it was largely constructive criticism but emphasis on the critical. And, fuck, Morrison couldn't half cuss him out like a farmer when Gabriel managed to really piss him off._

_They were due for their first round of real, potent dose supersoldier serum and so the two dressed in silence, ate breakfast in silence. Gabriel had made a couple jokes on behalf of Jack's vegetarianism but if that's how he wanted to do this; power to him. Unless it impacted Gabriel, who cared._

_The same equipment was present in the medical room, same hospital beds, but there were more personnel milling about alongside professional looking-- chemists, scientists, Gabriel could only speculate on their official titles. Researchers._

_There was a significant volume increase within the needle's body and it was a deeper, richer tone, less dilute. She applied the automatic tourniquet and it vaccumed itself to his bicep so the nurse could locate the appropriate vein. The needle was readied._

 

It was all they had scheduled for today which meant they expected the symptoms to be a hell of a lot worse than the first one.

As soon as the needle pierced his skin he could physically feel the fluid flush through his veins. He'd expected the symptoms to take effect slowly but by the first five minutes intense, numbing chills were already causing his body to tremble intensely enough for the bed to rattle beneath him. Just short of convulsing.

Like before the lights were all of a sudden way too bright but this time it was practically blinding. His entire body was on a sharp edge and even the antiseptic air seemed to be trying to pierce his skin.

When he looked around everybody seemed to be in the same boat, the serum hitting them all around the same time. Some people taking it worse than others. To his left Reyes' gaze appeared unfocused, his expression one of nausea.

Looking became too much to bare however and he had to shut his eyes to block out the blinding light. It was too much and too intense. His ears were ringing.

When the nurse came over to check his pulse he physically recoiled, her touch scorching hot and scalding.

 

_The second the serum hit his bloodstream Gabriel's pupils dilated._

_Growing up in LA he'd been exposed to his fair share of street drugs but hadn't touched any of the poison himself in his youth, so he had no firsthand experience. But from an extraneous perspective, he'd never seen a substance just completely_ fuck _a group of people up so severely and so very quickly._

_But then again he was on it, so Gabriel wasn't sure if he could trust his perspective._

_Everything was so_ colourful _and loud; the knocking of the bed beside him against the wall was like a fucking bomb going off in his ear, everytime, and Gabriel began to flinch. He wanted to tell Morrison to shut up, shut up, to shut the fuck up but the numbness in his jaw made him unsure whether he would speak or just drool the surplus of warm saliva indicative of potentially approaching emesis he had to keep swallowing down._

_There was a real commotion occuring in one of the other serum administration rooms and it was a further hellish assault on his auditory senses. The sensory hell of it all; he'd had to drop his hat to the floor after the first two minutes, the pressure and texture unbearable against his scalp. Gabriel turned just his head so his cheek was resting on his pillow to try and follow the source but it was futile; his vision wouldn't focus on anything bar the foreground and so he was just searching Morrison's profile. His partner was grimacing like he was on a rollercoaster, shuddering hard enough to simulate one too._

_He wanted to attempt to speak, just to see if he could. Gabriel swallowed thickly._

_"...Mmn. Fuuck."_

 

After about an hour most of them were dismissed and sent back to their dorms. Not that it felt that long, he could only tell by the clock who's ticking had been rattling around in his head the whole time. Those who'd had more extreme, possibly fatal reactions were to be observed overnight.

Jack, fortunately, wasn't one of them and stumbled his way back to the dorms with everyone else. The walk was long and unsteady, the symptoms hadn't died down in the slightest and the ground felt like it was crumbling beneath him.

When he eventually walked (more like crashed) back into his room he gathered every blanket he could find to wrap himself in to fend off the bone settling chill within him.

His hunger had also returned with a vengeance that no amount of shitty protein bar could help with but the cafeteria was so painfully far and his body was having troubles staying upright. He made a half hearted attempt at getting there but collapsed on the sofa before he could take more than two steps.

Even the plush couch wasn't comfortable to him like this while he was aching to his very core and the lights were so intrusively bright that he had to duck his head under the cocoon of blankets he had made for himself.

"Hey you think you could turn the lights off?" he croaked out, voice strangely hoarse as he heard Reyes enter the room moments later.

 

_And with one needle and one classified compound the continents professed soldiery future had been reduced to vegetables._

_Some with more motor function than others; as he shuffled through the complex he didn't envy the guy back there stuck in the foetal position nor the guy who'd had an acute, gushing nosebleed for over fifteen minutes. He'd blinked slowly at the nurse as she'd begun to reel off potential short-term effects; sensory integration dysfunction, nausea and vomiting, nosebleeds, dystonia, impaired thinking. Fuck, Gabriel could've told her about the latter._

_He flipped the light for Morrison and the visionary deprivation was nice, at first, until even the darkness had its own squeezing pressure. Gabriel had tried to get to his room but made it as far as the kitchen before dropping to his hands and knees and crawling to the fridge, pressed his forearm against his eyes and squeezed them shut to avoid looking at the fridge light - because, yes, it was that bad - and groped until he felt a bottle of water._

_Too cold still, too much, like everything else._

_But it wet his dry mouth at least, momentarily fought off the nausea._

_There was no way he was making it to his room and so Gabriel just dragged himself to the back of the couch and slumped against it. He downed the water mid-way but paused and took it from his lips._

_"If you're still alive up there, you want any?" he asked gruffly._

 

Grunting in affirmation and gratitude because he hadn't realised how horrifically dry his throat was, he extended to arm to grasp the bottle.

Water had never had a taste before to him but now it tasted so unbelievably sweet, almost like he could taste every component. It was unbearably cold too on his tongue and running down his throat not helping with the tremors so he gave it back after one sip.

The darkness was a blessing, the serum seemed to heighten all his senses to which even the texture of the fabric against his skin was too much.

When his body had settled down to just shuddering he sat up to acknowledge Reyes who was sat stock still in place against the back of the sofa.

"Did you want to get on here too or are you camping out there for the night?"

 

_Gabriel remained where he was for several contemplative seconds._

_Eventually he hauled himself to his feet but when bile shot up his esophagus he took a detour to the sink, took the washing-up basin and roughly poured its contents away. The gurgling alone was an unpleasant enough stimulation to make him wince._

_It was difficult catching Morrison's eye in the darkness so Gabriel just glanced at the outline of his body curled in the sofa's corner as he set the basin between them. He sat down heavily on the other side, splayed his knees and slouched._

_"If you spew chunks before me, you can use it."_

_It was difficult maintaining a stony demeanour with both of their bodies teetering on the brink of a medical crisis, but if they weren't trying._

_"So? What d'you think?"_

_Not that it was succeeding. Gabriel couldn't muster any energy to be incriminating and he just sounded_ tired _. His jaw was stiffening again, going numb, his heart alternating between too fast and then too slow and Gabriel stretched a foot out and dragged the basin a little closer to himself._

 

"I appreciate the offer but I'm having the exact opposite situation here,” his stomach was so empty, Jack swore it was about it eat itself.

Just as he thought he might've settled into a half comfortable state the hot flushes came. And then he couldn't throw the blankets off fast enough.

Within minutes he was already sweating through his clothes and hesitantly threw off the shirt too.

"I dunno, fuck- this stuff is intense. You think it's only gonna get worse from here?" He pondered, while his body temperature rising and dropping within minute intervals it was hard to keep a comfortable medium. Throwing off blankets only to pull them back minutes later and limbs aching so much he couldn't keep a comfortable position let alone a steady or coherent thought pattern.

 

_"I...hmm."_

_A flood of cloying, hot saliva suddenly hit the dam of his clenched teeth and Gabriel knew without a shadow of a doubt what would follow. Whilst his stomach gave a premonitory churn he collected the basin in hand, held a finger up in a 'please hold' indicator, and twisted his body so that if Jack were to squint through the darkness he'd only see the back of Gabriel's head._

_He couldn't censor the slosh of a slurry of half-digested food and digestive juices filling the basin. The smell was_ abysmal _up close, enough to choke on, and prompted another wave of vomiting._

_There was little dignity in it but he was just incredibly impassive to the appearance; belched and spat into the cloudy pool of sick once the episode had concluded. Or so he cautiously pronounced._

_Gabriel banished the strand of saliva dangling from his bottom lip with the back of his hand and set the basin down on the floor with shaking hands._

_"I dunno' about that," his voice was raw from the stomach acid._

_It was odd; it was the first conversation they'd had voluntarily outside training in a few days. They were treading around each other._

_"This not bad enough for you, Morrison?"_

_He forced himself to his feet to pour his fucking vomit down the drain._

_"Suppose we'll see in the weeks to come who's in this for the long run."_

 

He looked up from where he was half covered in blankets, the other half in the frigid air of the room.

The stench of vomit permeated his nose and was vile enough to threaten to make him nauseous. Despite the darkness he was still subtle when he brought the corner of his blanket up to cover his nose. As a reflex he almost brushed a hand over Reyes' back in comfort but stopped himself. It would pain Jack just as much as it would like pain Reyes, physically and likely mentally. He didn't need another reason for the other to be annoyed at him or push him away.

"It's not that, it's just-" he was cut off by a pang of hunger so intense he almost doubled over. Figuring he couldn't ignore it any longer he stumbled off the couch. His legs simply would not carry him there, the shaking still racking his whole body that he practically had to crawl over to the fridge, grab his protein bars and crawl back in almost complete darkness.

When he got back, swarming himself once again in blankets and ripping into the first bar he continued where he left off, "'S just it's bad now but doing this on a weekly basis? Already feels- ugh, already-y..."

His brain had become too muddled, completely burnt out.

 

_Gabriel's knees were practically knocking together were he was stood over the skin, leaning heavily on the counter to get to the stream of water. He rinsed it around his mouth and spat but dry heaved when he attempted to swallow a mouthful, pharyngeal reflex on red-alert._

_"Couldn't tell you."_

_The few metres it took to go from the kitchen to the sofa suddenly seemed impossible and so Gabriel focused on the trek, arduous but achievable, to its back to use as a rest stop._

_Jack stiffened where he was nestled in an alcove of blankets, as did Gabriel, near simultaneously. Ordinarily the proximity would be unassuming but from where his fist was buried in the back cushion to steady himself he could feel a magnetism, like a flux of force between them. Enhanced spatial awareness. It was intense as a singular sensation but then there was Morrison's body heat rolling off of his skin. Gabriel was sure if he bent down a little to Morrison's neck he'd be able to smell him quite clearly; sweat, innate aroma, if he were wearing aftershave or not._

_Of course, he didn't act on it and didn't attribute any meaning to the desire to. But Gabriel remained where he was for several seconds before straightening with a sigh and returning to his side of the couch._

_Jack was looking at him and he couldn't help a half-smile; the way his eyes crinkled at their corners warding anything derisive from the expression._

_"It's fine, I wasn't paying attention to you anyways. Try sleep it off, soldadit-- alright, alright. Morrison."_

 

Jack has bristled at the sudden close proximity but he didn't hate it.

Once Reyes collapsed back on the sofa skin brushed skin momentarily before both recoiling. Mostly because contact with anything set his sensitive skin on fire and Reyes was scorching. But compared to all other sensations overwhelming Jack's senses it had been the most bearable, even almost pleasant. Smooth skin radiating the sort of heat that was comforting not obtrusive. He'd of sought out more of the sensation if it didn't scare the shit out of him that he wanted it or what it was he wanted.

So as always Jack trampled down his own momentary feelings before they could escalate further.

"Tryna pull rank on me now, Captain?" It had only been a general suggestion but Jack took it with offence even if he was absolutely right. And maybe his addled brain was loosening up his usual tight filter.

"But by all means take off to bed if you can't handle it."

 

_"...'Can't handle it?'"_

_Gabriel hoped any cordial curve to his lips had been imagined. They morphed into a sneer and he leaned forward to properly engage in what was now gearing up to be another argument._

_"I know who I am, and what I'm capable of. Do you?"_

_Even their animus was palpable. It was seething molten beneath the surface but just like that Gabriel let the valve on it open and in every sense but literal it steamed from his still burning skin; all transparent and senseless._

_"Who you tryin' to prove? Cónchale, I'm not pulling any seniority shit on you, believe it or not. You just look beat," he muttered. In fact, Gabriel couldn't even completely remember what had pissed him off in the first place. The serum took any semblance of chronological, cognitive thought and scrambled it beyond recognition. That and whenever he closed his eyes he felt like he was falling, but when he opened them the world pulsed like it had a heartbeat._

_"That bravado sure is cute though. Keep practising."_

 

"Whatever, you're just- fuckin' hell you're just..."

His mind was losing traction with his own thoughts and subsequently the conversation but Reyes' general tone was pissing him off.

'Cute' was pushing it though and Jack just rolled his eyes in response. Though the motion he instantly regretted as the world seemed to shift around him causing his head to spin. Even when Jack dared open his eyes there was several long seconds of delay as his vision caught up to him.

 _The protein bars were a bad idea,_ was all that ran through his head as Jack raced against the floor collapsing under him as he bolted to the sink. Unaware of if he was even aiming in the bowl as he puked up everything in his stomach.

"Look, I'd really, really rather not argue right now."

 

_Gabriel was beginning to suspect that the shots had gonadal steroid properties. Even for him, it wasn't normal for your eyes to meander down to your roommates ass when he was buckled over the sink vomiting profusely._

_It was the briefest of glances, nipped in the bud before he'd allowed himself any real opportunity to check it out. Maybe another time._

_His heart rate had heightened again and it was making him sweat. The downy hairs at his temples were damp to the skin and Gabriel began ventilating quietly through his mouth to try and stabilise his pulse, his hands, his locking jaw. To no avail._

_With Morrison absent from the sofa he could stretch his legs out a little more into the space he'd occupied, his elbow on the arm rest, his hand propping his chin to hold his head up._

_Gabriel could hear Morrison where he was breathing heavily, head bowed over the sink._

_"Alright," he renounced, the edge in his voice not absent but blunt._

_"...So, you been eatin' rabbit food all your life?"_

 

Jack rolled his eyes at ‘rabbit food’. So much for good conversation.

"Yep. It was how I was raised, never known different.” He said, spitting the last bits of vomit from his mouth, “You can not eat meat and still have a well rounded and nutritious diet."

A lot of the things he said about his vegetarianism was recycled phrases he'd recite time and time again.

"Ever been to a farmers market? You'd be surprised the variety of produce and meat substitutes they have there."

On unsteady feet he made his way back to the couch, stopping at the armrest when he saw that his place had been taken. Annoyingly long legs draped lazily over his seat. God Reyes really needed to get looser fitting shorts because Jack could see... everything. The thick muscles of his thigh, the definition of his... fuck.

Diverting his gaze from the couch to his bedroom door he knew he wouldn't be able to make it all the way, not when he was already leaning all his weight on the arm of the couch just to keep himself upright.

"You mind moving over a little?"

 

_Gabriel tilted his head back a little and regarded him with scrutiny, though his face betrayed no notion of what he'd gleaned._

_And eventually he folded one leg up and bent the other so that Morrison could fit himself in. Or collapse in, rather._

_Again, he could feel the indescribable pressure of the other man near him. It shouldn't have been so perceptible, so suspenseful, so strangely personal in its tactility, like it held the prospect of contact that neither of them were going to seal._

_The intent behind the partnership program was slowly occurring to his defunct brain. There_ was _a solidarity in this, in this joint suffering. Even with how tumultuous their beginnings were; Gabriel's fault, almost entirely. He'd made his judgment, decided how this relationship was to play out. Hadn't even given the guy an opportunity to even really piss him off yet._

_It was a startling change of pace that Gabriel was unable to digest in this state._

_Of course, the deduction ebbed as quickly as he'd made it._

_"Been to the tourist-trap one in L.A. Here's where you tell me that has no authenticity."_

_His voice was drawling, dreamy now he took an inadvertent wander through the memory. The nausea was too intermittent to eat anything, but he was hungry._

_"Man, one of the street vendor's did milanesa to die for. Real lightly battered. The kind with mozzarella."_

_Another occurrence; that Morrison was the furthest thing from Latin American descent possible and he didn't even eat meat. Gabriel's eyes were on him now, hooded lazily, unable to focus for any length of time; their room blurring in and out of focus._

_"S'fried steak."_

 

Flopping back down Jack let his limbs stretch out, the aches becoming unbearable. In this position his thigh was pressed firmly against Reyes' calf, a contact he didn't recoil from this time. It was nice although it didn't have any particular meaning behind it. Another's body created a warmth his body craved in his serum induced state and he didn't have the strength to move again anyway.

"I wouldn't know, before the military I didn't really travel much outside of Indiana." It was weird to talk about his childhood, it wasn't a topic he really wanted to dwell on or discuss even remotely so he moved the conversation on from himself.

"You're from LA though right? Must've been great growing up there."

It was the most civil conversation they'd managed in their week of rooming together so far and Jack was thankful for it, even if his brain wasn't totally in it.

God fuck was he tired.

 

_Gabriel put very little purchase in the past casual sex he'd had, let alone any chance body contact. Not that every nerve-ending had been on fire whenever he'd simply had his legs pressed up against another soldier in the past._

_Nonetheless, it still struck him how fast they'd familiarised themselves with each other under the serums influence. It was the most mentally and physically inhibited he'd ever been._

_"Oh, we're talkin' about me now? We done with your superhero backstory?"_

_Either Morrison was too exhausted to retaliate or without anything remotely aggressive in his posture or speech the contumelious way Gabriel tended to speak was beginning to lose its purported hostility._

_He closed up similarly at the question, however, shrugged his broad shoulders even though he was sure Morrison didn't see the action. Wasn't even sure if he was talking to a conscious human being at this point, he could hear the others breathing slowing and softening._

_"Yeah, I suppose. It was what it was," Gabriel replied. He couldn't sleep, his thoughts were incessant. He could_ not _shut his fucking brain up but it was processing information at such an incredible rate with such little finesse no thought was intelligible. But neither was he able to move in the stupor he was in, bar the occasional muscle spasm._

_"...Morrison? Gringo, you passin' out on me?"_

 

Jack scoffed at the superhero comment but was too far out of it to reply.

His stomach gave another loud and painful growl and he snapped back to full consciousness to find Reyes staring at him. It was a neutral gaze, not a pointed or annoyed glare. A small smile rose to his face unwillingly.

He worried briefly that Reyes' sudden leniency towards him was mess the serum had made them. He was tough to crack but didn't seem like that bad of a guy. The serum gave them a common ground that he could potentially work off of if he wanted to put in the effort to befriend him.

But that didn't stop his eyelids from betraying him and sliding closed every few seconds.

"Ok, we probably should head to our own beds for some actual rest now." Jack said through a stifled yawn. "Unless you want to wake up a tangle of limbs."

 

_That succeeded in pulling a short laugh, deep and sonorous, from the base of Gabriel's throat._

_"Slow down. Let's see if we can complete a fuckin' objective together first, yeah?"_

_It was as close to a 'I understand that concerning some facets I may have been presumptuous and that wasn't fair of me' as Morrison was going to get. It wasn't that Gabriel revoked any of his previous statements; he_ did _think he was naive, he_ did _think he was overcompensating and he didn't need them to like each other._

_But that didn't mean he couldn't entertain a partnership instead of vetoing the concept before he'd even formed a bare-bones opinion of Morrison. The benefit of the doubt, all that Disney shit. Real cute. Might even work out alright, who knew. Might not. Wasn't a cataclysmic deal either way._

_Maybe the serum had coaxed the conclusion but it was ultimately Gabriel's._

_"Don't fancy staring at my ceiling for hours on end. I'm staying here," Gabriel replied._

_"Go get your beauty sleep then, Golden Boy. You need it."_

 

"And it's gonna be any different from staring at the ceiling in here?"

Not that it made any difference to Jack at all, other than maybe experiencing his wrath if he wakes Reyes up running to the bathroom to vomit in the middle of the night.

"Whatever, if the serum kills me in my sleep you can finish those veggie protein bars, I'm sure you'll take a real liking to 'em."

And with that Jack slowly made his way crawling back to his own bed, mountain of blankets in tow. He didn't spare Reyes a glance as he left but he did ponder the conversation afterwards when he was safely at his destination. It had been... oddly pleasant. A shift to the dynamic they'd formulated from the get go.

But still the complete silence and darkness of his room was a god send. Too much stimulation everywhere had completely conquered him out and despite the almost convulsion like tremors he managed to drift into a fitful state of unconsciousness.


	3. Chapter 3

The effects of the first real shot came and went within a couple of days, although it seemed to take longer for Jack's to wear off than most others. Some hadn't made it already, they hadn't been compatible and the serum tore them apart. Mostly their presence just disappeared without a word.

The second shot was harder, Jack had profusely vomited for the entire night, taking residency at the toilet bowl. For the next few days since he'd been trying to replenish what he had quite violently expelled from his body but the void in his stomach was never quite filled. They'd been on a fairly strict diet that was supposed to help them build muscle but, as suspected, outside of meat products there wasn't much for Jack to supplement in to make up for it.

Which lead him to where he was now, in their small kitchen in the middle of the night digging through just about anything and everything he _could_ eat.

The serum had really worked wonders so far, results were showing after only two rounds. Jack could see the change in everyone around him, Reyes especially. Steadily increasing muscle mass, faster, more agile. Training really showcased the miracle the stuff was made of. Jack couldn't see as much of the same change in himself. He didn't want to admit that he was jealous but seeing Reyes already stretching out his current uniform from muscle gain and Jack still being scrawny as ever left him feeling like utter shit.

Sure he was getting stronger but the difference wasn't as dramatic. He'd pinned it down to the enhancements just being more gradual with him but that was frustrating, these first few weeks felt just as long as his first _six month_ s on T. Training was tiring Jack out more than others, his body temperature was constantly low and people were constantly telling him he looked white as a sheet. But it wasn't the same as everyone else who wasn't compatible with the serum, it wasn't attacking his body, it was still _working_

More nausea set in with each protein bar he ate but it was all he _could_ do. He wasn't about to get kicked out the program. He wouldn't.

Pacing the small kitchen Jack frustration grew, eventually resulting in him kicking in one of the pristine cabinets with an uncensored "FUCK!"

 

_Gabriel was a deeper sleeper than he liked to admit but it was an outburst even he couldn't remain unconscious through._

_The door to his room creaked open and Gabriel stuck his head out from the gloom to source the commotion. When he registered that it was courtesy of his roommate he narrowed his already sleep-squinted eyes and pushed his body through the gap to stand in the archway._

_"What the_ fuck _is your problem, Morrison?"_

_The others frustrations hadn't bypassed him. The gap in physical capabilities when they sparred grew by the day, he was gradually easier to overpower, his reflexes less keen. Gabriel didn't hold back, mostly because it went against his moral policy but partially because he knew it was the last thing Jack needed. Or wanted._

_Whilst he continued to berate him on skill-oriented mistakes, Gabriel didn't make any taunts about the obvious. Amongst the higher-ups it was incredible to watch how the consensus subtley turned from 'that Jack Morrison, he's one to keep an eye on' to 'perhaps we made a miscalculation.' It pissed Gabriel off. He didn't mention it, but it_ pissed _Gabriel off._

_Morrison was fighting tooth and claw not to get left behind in the dust. He endured the training, had even seen him agonise off-hours in the gym a couple times. There was no compatibility error but the serum was fighting him._

_He could see it now, with how pale he looked in the fluorescent light of the fridge._

 

"I don't have a fucking problem, I'm fine."

He was teetering on the edge. The post serum dizziness and nausea wasn't helping him think straight and as he kept working himself up his body felt weaker than ever.

His vision was blurring as he looked towards Reyes, his eyes not able to focus on him directly. "Just go back to sleep, sorry for waking you."

Another intense wave of nausea crashed through him as he spoke and Jack quickly leaned over the sink, dry heaving but nothing came up.

His head was so light and when his arms finally gave out under him he'd lost consciousness before he'd even hit the floor.

 

_"If you have to throw a tantrum in the middle of the night, mind doin' me a favour and--"_

_A few days after the injection the aftermath of the serum had mitigated for Gabriel and though certain symptoms were still evident, they weren't debilitating. Getting to sleep remained a challenge but further reprisal died on Gabriel's lips as the nature of the situation dawned on him; the rationale for his rude awakening becoming irrelevant as he watched Morrison sway._

_"...Look at you. You're not fucking fine."_

_The point further proved when he retched into the sink. All but solidified when Gabriel watched his arms buckle and body fall._

_Gabriel moved instantaneously, trying to get to him before his head could hit the floor. He'd expected his skin to be feverish when he caught him but Morrison was strangely cold, his own skin where it was flush to the other man's back and abdomen comparatively overheated._

_Fainting wasn't the issue, it was_ why _he'd fainted that concerned Gabriel. The serum was an anomaly and Morrison had been having an anomalous, and now apparently potentially harmful, reaction to it; it wasn't inherently his business however. Until now._

_He guided his body to the kitchen floor and shook him gently._

_"Morrison? Güero? We got training at seven tomorrow and it's uncomfortable as fuck down here."_

_When he received no reply he shook him again._

_"Come on, hey."_

 

He was out for a few minutes but it felt like only seconds when he was finally roused back to consciousness. His body trembling and not just from Reyes shaking him.

His vision wasn't as blurry as it had been previously and all he saw was Reyes looking down at him. A look of mild concern on his face but nothing more. He was surprised he actually bothered to stay with him.

"W-what uh, ha-" he cut himself short before he finished the sentence. He was confused, slightly disoriented but he knew he'd passed out. What stumped him was the reason why he did.

He didn't want to admit that it was likely due to the serum, he was terrified that if anyone else found out then he'd be booted out. Told he wasn't cut out to be a super soldier. For some reason he was more concerned about that than the stress it was putting on his body. It annoyed him as much as it upset him and Jack had to hold himself back from shedding frustrated tears. He wouldn't appear weak in front of anyone, let alone Reyes. Besides he had to save face lest Reyes calls one of the nurses or some shit.

"I'm fine, I'll just uh- I'll just head to bed." He said, raising himself into a sitting position on trembling arms.

 

_"I'm not going to rat you out."_

_It was likely the other man's salient worry. Gabriel could see it in his face, the terror at the possibility of an impending expulsion._

_"But be smart about this; if you stand up too quickly and hit the ground again I'm not fucking catching you this time," he replied. Sat back on his haunches to give Morrison some space._

_"There's every chance it's an issue easily fixed, hell, it could have something to do with your diet. This just ain't doing anyone any good--"_

_He anticipated the bristle and so Gabriel held up his hands, palms facing Morrison, in a universal placatory gesture. Last thing he needed was the idiot getting riled again._

_It impacted Gabriel only so long as they remained partners, but if this persisted then he presumed he'd be designated a new one._

_"...I know you don't want me to say shit. I get that. But if you start dragging your feet, don't think I won't leave you behind."_

 

"I'm _doing_ everything I can" He was snapping but he sounded weak, downtrodden, all bark with no bite. "I'm eating more than anyone else is I'm getting what I need, I'm training more, I just- I don't know, maybe I should check in with the doctors. 

It was still late so Jack continued to get up and make him way back to his own bed.

The prospect of addressing the issue officially was daunting and the possibility of it getting him kicked from the program was downright terrifying. He didn't know what he'd do if it came to that. He couldn't go back to the military as a failed experiment- not after leaving with such hope for saving humanity. He sure as hell wasn't going back to Indiana.

Maybe it would've been easier if he'd just been incompatible and had the serum destroy him from the inside out.

Jack paused before shutting the door to his room, looking at Reyes who was still milling about in the shared space.

 _I'm scared_ is what he wanted to say but couldn't admit it so he muttered out a quiet, "Thanks Reyes."

 

_Gabriel grunted and inspected an imagined blemish on the front of his slacks; bashful, almost, in a surly sort of way._

_Finally he pushed his hands into their loose pockets and said, "De nada."_

_The door to his bedroom shut without a backwards glance._

 

_\--_

 

_It wasn't a compulsory visit but Gabriel had made it anyways._

_Nor was it fuelled by any sentimentality, it was enraging having his own progress hampered because his avowed rising-star partner couldn't pull his weight. Further incensing was the dignitaries way of being so fucking cagey._

_A lot of training activities, physical and theoretical, warranted partnership. The scheme had been comprised on that. So, was he returning to the program? Sooner? Later? Gabriel hadn't been asking for a date, but a rough estimate would've be nice._

_Morrison wasn't to blame for either. But he wanted answers and so he'd taken it upon himself to go and get them._

_He hadn't been in the medical wing outside of injections. The lack of chaos was quite jarring as he wandered the corridors until he'd gotten to the isolation room where they'd told him he'd find Morrison._

_And he did, in a hospital bed, as white as the sheets he lay beneath._

_"...You really do look like shit."_

_It was as good a greeting as any._

 

He'd passed out again after the third shot. The dizziness from the second still hadn't settled down and at that point he hadn't been able to keep down anything that he ate.

An obligatory meeting had been held after he'd stayed in overnight with one of the scientists that had created the soldier serum and a few of the doctors. They'd been direct and to the point, trying to pinpoint why their prized ‘golden boy’ (as everyone liked to call him) wasn't living up to their expectations.

-

“Did you have any pre-existing conditions that you failed to tell us about?"

"What- no."

"Is there anything you've been keeping from us?"

 Jack shook his head.

 "You do realise that this stuff can seriously negatively impact your body if you aren't completely honest with us. We can't waste resources and time in the c-"

"I promise I haven't lied about anything."

"Ok, well then, have you been sticking to your dietary plan?"

"Yes. With a few... substitutions..."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Meat substitutes, etcetera.." he muttered.

"I'm sorry? You do realise Mr. Morrison that a high protein diet is essential in-"

"I know that! That's why I've been getting protein from other things like-"

-

He'd been cut off again after that, not given another chance to speak for the rest of the meeting. He'd been lectured for half an hour on the importance of a highly meat based diet for super soldiers and the requirements for the serum and blah blah blah.

They'd then written him up a new dietary plan and told him if he didn't follow it he'd be cut. Simple as that. They still had their hopes in him, at least but he had to help himself if he was going to be able to help humanity.

Jack knew there was no question in what he'd have to do but the thought of eating meat made his stomach coil. After avoiding it his entire life it was going to be difficult to uproot all his beliefs at the drop of a hat. But it was for the better, ultimately. Probably.

The prospect of it was still too foreign to him.

Reyes' visit was unexpected, he thought maybe it had been peaceful in the dorm without him there with his bullshit and collapsing in the middle of the night.

"Thanks," He responded to Reyes' welcoming greeting rolling his eyes as he did. "They told me I'd have to stay another night but I'll be back to training tomorrow."

He glanced over guiltily to where Reyes was standing in the doorway. "And the uh... the problem should be sorted now. They're not kicking me out."

 

_The gap between the bed and door, Gabriel and Morrison, was symbolic of their interpersonal dynamic. Which they'd amended, somewhat, representative again when Gabriel took a couple steps from the entrance. The smallest amount of space closed between them._

_"...So then, I can expect you at sparring tomorrow? Been too long since I've knocked you on your ass."_

_He wasn't smiling when he said it but the frivolity was there._

_"'The problem', huh. Your diet?"_

_The 'I told you so' was implicit from tone. Though he didn't understand why Morrison was so devoutly vegetarian, he also didn't understand why he hadn't just relinquished it sooner when he'd began to deteriorate. Religion? He hadn't pegged Morrison as a God-fearing man. Aversion to taking an animals life? What kind of soldier could shoot a man but reject the killing of animals?_

_Maybe he hadn't killed anyone yet. Gabriel wouldn't be surprised._

 

"I'll be there and I don't recall that ever happening," Jack replied with an involuntary smile.

He didn't know how long it would take for him to catch up to the others and it pissed him off that his stubbornness meant he had to. It's not like he expected that he'd start experiencing changes as soon as he started eating meat but the serum was a miracle substance. It shouldn't take long considering how vastly it was changing everyone else who was compatible and it had only been three weeks.

And then there was the prospect of the glares in the cafeteria that he was bound to get. Hard-headed, vegetarian Morrison, eating meat? He didn't think he could face that straight away so he guessed he'd hide it. It might be easier short term but long term it would be difficult. Shit.

"I never said my diet _was_ the problem. So don't go acting all smug ok," Jack hated admitting he was wrong, it went along with the stubbornness but he'd been working on it. The look on Gabriel's face made him feel like he'd been inordinately stupid.

"It just happened to be a factor," he muttered after.

 

_"You were a first-class idiot to leave it this long. But hey, the doctors probably didn't skimp on that in their lecture. Nothin' more to be said about it."_

_Morrison didn't need further lecturing and so long as its consequences were outside of Gabriel's district he was conciliated. Morrison's well being largely mattered only because it affected Gabriel. Though, as pragmatic as his approach was he wasn't heartless; he hadn't been rooting for his dismissal from the program._

_The colour hadn't returned to Morrison's face but there was a strength, a determination to his voice again._

_"So long as you're at training tomorrow," Gabriel finished, tilting his jaw to the side to scratch idly at the underside of his beard._

_"...It ain't that big a change. Who knows. You might even enjoy meat."_

 

Jack almost retched at the thought. "Ha, I don't know about that. My entire life I've been dead set against it, never had the desire to. I'll only do it because I have to. 

There wasn't much to say after that, they exchanged a few words on the training he'd missed and what was scheduled for tomorrow and then Reyes left.

Jack had half wanted him to stay, he'd started to enjoy the others company and the human interaction was uplifting, it distracted himself from the empty hospital room and its incessant beeping.

 

\--

 

He was discharged early enough to attend the mornings individual training and drills, still slightly fatigued but he'd be sure to get his strength up before the afternoons sparring. He felt he owed his partner that 

At lunch he made sure he could spot Reyes among the crowd before he grabbed a burger from the canteen and scampered back to their empty dorm with it shoved in his pocket.

It was discarded on the small table while Jack grabbed some water from the fridge and then sat back down, dropping his head to his hands and closing his eyes. It was best not to overthink it, just do it and get it over with. He'd have to include it in his daily diet now anyway, might as well _try_ to enjoy it, he couldn't go through this every time he ate. He almost wanted to cry.

The bun was soft under his fingertips but the meat sandwiched between looked threatening to him in a way he didn't know how to describe. It was a dead animal and the very _thought_ of that made him nauseous. Eating meat was just not something that his family did so it was foreign to him, of course the in the populations majority this sort of consumption is completely normalised but it was never something Jack could agree with morally or without repulsion.

It had always been his family’s teachings but it was Jack’s own decision to continue to live by it.

After a shaky exhale he plucked up the courage. The first bite was small, more bun than patty but it was chewed fast and swallowed thickly. Hardest bit done, he reasoned. He was trying not to taste it as he ate through it but of course he couldn't stop it's flavour from spreading across his tongue. The texture was strange but easy to chew around, his stomach lurched at the feel of it between his teeth and against his tongue and Jack put the burger down. Grinding it down to flavourless mush in his mouth, Jack eventually swallowed, half expecting his body to bring it right back up but it stayed down. He let it settle in his stomach.

And he felt… better. Not mentally by any means, but physically his body felt it was satisfying a craving, fulfilling a need that Jack himself didn’t even _know_ he needed.

 

_Circuit training was alright; it had never been physically gruelling and since the addition of serum it was effortless, even with amplified difficulty._

_Its introductory period lasted several more weeks until they were to have its effects tested in real combat situations, both examinations with designed peril and martial missions with crucial consequences._

_Gabriel was ready for it. In fact, he was impatient to break this monotony._

_Fighting remained fun. Less so when his strength, speed and reflexes were still ahead of Morrison but only time would put them on a level playing field. Wouldn't take long with the incredible potency of the stuff._

_Nevertheless, he didn't pull any punches in their late-afternoon session. Quite literally._

_"You had enough, pretty boy?"_

_Gabriel took a step back, breathing hard from the exertion. To peacock a little, he cracked his neck to one side._

 

"Pretty boy? That's cute Reyes, you think I'm pretty?" He replied with a smirk, batting his eyelids suggestively when he stepped back a safe distance to catch his breath.

He'd felt almost revitalised since lunch, with more energy than he'd had in a while. He still wasn't on an equal playing field with Reyes in terms of strength and while he tried to make up for it in enthusiasm it was hard to stand against a higher developed super soldier. Which only meant the stuff was providing its intended results.

Regardless he put up a fair fight until Reyes slammed him into the mat in victory. He was thankful that in the recent weeks Reyes had started to have the courtesy to offer him a hand after he did so. He didn't think it was out of pity.

"Next week... I'll get your ass back by next week," Jack promised confidently despite still gulping down air and downing half his water bottle in one.

When they left the gym it was together, walking side by side, sweaty arms occasionally brushing against each other reminding Jack of the muscle he still had to gain and the distance he still had to diminish. He'd refuel and head back to the gym after dinner for some late night training.

 

_"In your fuckin' dreams."_

_Gabriel took the hem of his tank top in hand and brought it to his face, wiped away the surfeit of sweat._

_"It's gonna' take more than a couple burgers down you to give me a run for my money."_

_Speaking of which, they were walking into the intersection where the entrance into the mess hall lay. Instead of turning right he walked straight, intending to eat first, shower later._

_Whether he'd just been preoccupied with shooting the shit or intended to do the same, Morrison had followed suit._

_"You should get the philly chicken. Heard white people eat that shit up," he said as he walked through the doors and glanced up at the bulk of soldiers around a table on the far-end, congesting the walkway slightly in their (loud) efforts to intermingle, eager for some downtime after a day of labour._

_Within the crowd was Ludford, the other senior officer he'd eaten lunch with on Day One. She looked a little surprised but reformed it into a cursory smile, to which Gabriel snorted before turning to Morrison._

_"You getting food?"_

 

While queueing to serve their own food Jack was apprehensive, nervous at the prospect of eating meat in front of the people who'd teased him for abstaining.

Isolating himself and eating in solitude was always an option but Jack still wanted to get along and make friends with his fellow soldiers and meal times were one of the only times that they really got to socialise, so Jack swallowed his pride.

Besides, Reyes would probably see him as pathetic for hiding something so trivial and Jack found that he's started to care what his partner thinks of him.

"I don't even know what that is. It sounds bad," Jack replied while browsing over all the new options open to him now. There was too much choice and it made Jack apprehensive, almost overwhelmed by it.. The guilt of actually eating meat was still very much present too.

"I mean, I guess I'll just have whatever you're having" he said, it was probably the best place to start.  It was easier that way, it meant he didn’t have to think about it or make the decision for himself. There was a certain element of safety in following which Jack felt throughout his body as he took the serving spoon from Reyes after he was done and began to fill his plate.

 

_Gabriel unceremoniously dumped a heaping ladle of chili into a bowl._

_"Do yourself a favour and don't eat the meatloaf. Pretty sure that not all the fatalities here were down to the serum."_

_Sliding his tray down the line he took a protein shake alongside a bottle of water; an odd accompaniment to a meal had he not been enlisted in what was essentially a pioneering bodybuilding scheme. Well, in part. He hadn't heard of any prevalent fitness lifestyles that sharpened reflexes and situational processing quite like this._

_Gabriel remained sceptical about the true purpose of the program. The morality. The soldiers who died the second it circulated their system. But just looking in the mirror displayed the results._

_As they were walking from the canteen towards the throng of soldiers he looked over his shoulder as Morrison slowed, just slightly. It was indicative enough._

_"Nobody's holdin' a gun to your head, chico. If you got places to be, then by all means."_

_He nodded to the cafeteria door._

_"If not, sit down and pretend to enjoy your dinner."_

 

The cafeteria door was inviting, a safety escape net. But he wouldn't, he knew that if he got himself into that routine he'd never be able to dig himself out of it. The isolation would be worse.

Steeling himself he followed Reyes into the fray of soldiers loudly enjoying their meals. There weren't many seats left available but a few people had scooched over to make room for Reyes, he'd wanted to sit next to him but was relieved to see Pinto was sat on the opposite side and waved him over to sit next to her.

He sat down with a falsified self confidence and dug into the rice he'd also put on his plate along side the chili and steamed vegetables.

He could feel Pinto staring at his plate and then at him but no comments were made, she probably knew better than to bring it up in front of everyone else and he silently thanked for that. The nerves started to lessen as he realised how conceited it was of him to think that people would take notice or even give a shit about what it was he ate, but there was still that stupid nagging fear that someone would say something

Jack put effort into quelling the visible nervousness he’d had at lunch in solitude but there was still apprehension as he took his first few bites.There was nothing to mask the bulk of the meat but rice so Jack ate slowly, dealing with the strange texture up front. It wasn’t _bad_ but it still felt foreign in his mouth. What surprised him was the gurgling of his stomach, like it was roaring for more.

After that it was difficult to worry about if people were staring or forming opinions of him based off of this, a whole lot was going on in his own mind about how he felt about himself. Guilt...disgust… but with his body craving more and more it was becoming harder to resist. And why should he? This is what he was supposed to be feeding his body, according to his doctors, it was about further advancing his body to become the best super soldier he could be and reach his potential.

The only outside pressure he was vaguely aware of was Reyes’ gaze burning holes in him.

 

_It was a hub of gossip, one of the biggest congregations of soldier's within the mess hall._

_Gabriel grunted as his shoulder was knocked as Boswell, Ludford's partner, squeezed himself between them to perch on her stool. He jostled him back to reclaim some elbow room and the other soldier laughed._

_"You coming courts after this?"_

_Gabriel spoke through a mouthful of chili. "Uh-huh."_

_"Can Morrison play? Dude, we could do four-v-four sets."_

_This time he swallowed it before speaking._

_"Dunno'."_

_They both watched him for several indiscreet seconds before Gabriel resumed eating and Boswell lowered his voice a little._

_"I thought he was out of here for sure, good for him. They forcing him to eat meat? That the problem?"_

_"I ain't sure if forced is an apt analogy," he replied, snubbing the latter question. With the food diverting his attention from his social surroundings Morrison sure hadn't hesitated once he'd gotten into it. Didn’t even think he realised he was doing it himself.._

_Gabriel gazed at him across the table for a further couple seconds longer before Ludford assimilated him into her argument with Boswell and he turned from Morrison._

_When the bowls were clear he got up with the rest bound for the sports recreation hall. Preoccupied as he was in the midst of a rapid-fire debate in Spanish, it didn't seem like Gabriel was going to acknowledge the other man as he exited but then his hand reached for Morrison's shoulder and connected, a warm, heavy weight, fleeting as he passed by._

_"You missin' your rabbit food, Morrison?"_

_Patted it once. And then he was gone._

 

"You can just call me Jack," he said as he felt his partners warm hand leave his shoulder. When he looked up the other was already making his way out of the cafeteria and he wasn't sure if he'd heard him or not. Jack watched his back mournfully as he made his way out with his comrades.

By then the cafeteria was mostly empty, he'd been meaning to head to the gym and get some extra training done but ended up staying for longer than expected. Now that there was no one around he took the opportunity to help himself to a second helping of chili. He didn’t know why he was doing it, making up for lost development time he supposed but his body seemed to be moving on it’s own accord.

Jack had planned to hit the gym immediately after dinner but found himself hanging around nervously watching the last of his fellow soldiers trickle out. The other part of his brain preoccupied with the left out food that had yet to be cleared away, like his brain just couldn’t leave it alone. It would only get thrown out anyway, someone might as well eat it. His fingers steepled and trembled with something he couldn’t identify, picking at the left over meat until the kitchen staff came out to start clearing away and Jack left in a hurry.

 

\--

 

After an intense and more satisfying personal training session than he'd had in a while Jack finally made it back to their room a little after 11pm.

He hadn't expected to find Reyes spread out on the sofa, fast asleep in front of some reality TV crap that Jack had no idea they even had access to on the limited channels on their television. It was sort of endearing, an insight into Reyes' personality that he hadn't known about and probably wouldn't have even guessed at.

As peaceful as he looked Jack knew he wouldn't appreciate being left there to wake up with an aching back when they had more training at the crack of dawn. So reluctantly Jack walked over and attempted to shake him awake.

"Hey, wake up, you need to get to your own bed.. And I wanted to ask you something."

 

_When Gabriel came to there was a dull, rocking pressure on his shoulder and instinctively he shrugged it away. When it persisted he bid a final farewell to the prospect of returning to sleep's embrace and eased his eyes open._

_Morrison was staring back down at him. Nah-- hadn't he told him to call him Jack? Jack it is then._

_In his bewilderment he glared at Jack. Then at the television screen behind him. Then in every which direction as his waking brain registered the indistinct shapes in the dark as their front room._

_"Fuck. I just watched so much Arrested Development."_

_He scrubbed his hand over his face and yawned._

_"Yeah-- what's up then."_

 

Watching Reyes rub the sleep out of his eyes was distracting, the acute ways his facial muscles moved as he yawned... he didn't know why he was staring. Probably just reminded him how tired he was himself.

"It's just…” Jack hesitated “we've been roommates for weeks already and I feel weird still calling you by your last name." It felt weird to hear the other soldiers they sat with call him Gabriel yet Jack, the one he'd spent the most time with, was still not on first name basis. Yeah he was jealous.

"I don't know if you heard what I said when you left the cafeteria earlier."

Budging over Reyes' leg to make room he sat down on the couch picking up the discarded remote and flicking through the new shows the other had clearly asked for clearance to download. He frowned.

"Did you actually request to watch this crap or was this all you managed to haggle out of the authorities."

 

_This crap? Gabriel squared his jaw and bridled._

_He maintained the pretence for all of three seconds until, forced to look at his shame, he glimpsed 'Extreme Couponing' in the recently added selection._

_"I like shit television. Sue me," he said, poorly suppressing the urge to grin._

_"I did manage to extort some classics out of 'em though."_

_As he watched Jack's face as he scrolled past the cult horror movies he'd fought tooth and claw for with officialdom to garner he presumed they had differing tastes. Or he just hadn't been converted, had yet to be introduced to Creepshow or The Toxic Avenger._

_Gabriel sat back, started idly bouncing a knee._

_"Yeah, I heard you. Alright then. Gabriel it is."_

 

"Well yeah, I guess _those_ are alright but you specifically requested these and you only downloaded horror movies? No comedies? Disney? Hell not even some super hero crap?" He berated Gabriel teasingly.

Jack didn't watch a whole lot of movies or TV but when he did he didn't like sticking to one genre. He enjoyed horror movies but he couldn't watch them solely.

"How much TV are you even intending to watch anyway?" he questioned. It wasn't like they really had much time at all for leisure and the time spent in the dorms was mostly spent catching up on sleep after training or resting after an intense round of shots.

Maybe it would be a good form of entertainment post-injections.

"Wait a minute now we're getting somewhere... Ice Age, Gabe? I didn't expect _that_ one. All the first three movies too."

 

_The indignation that returned to his peron could've been reinterpreted as defensiveness. Until Gabriel spoke._

_"You are kidding, right? What kind of fucking idiot wouldn't ask for Ice Age?" he upbraided. Where Jack's leg was just touching his it shook slightly in tandem._

_"And I figured I'd just watch it when the serum's keeping me up. Ain't my problem that you don't appreciate cult classics and like, what-- Disney movies?"_

_Which Gabriel liked too._

_But the abbreviation didn't pass him by. Gabriel arched an eyebrow but the stare lacked any entrapment; any thought kept discernable from his face_

_"Gabe, huh? You cosy up quick."_

 

"Ahhh… Sorry" Jack hadn't even realised he'd used the nickname, it felt weird to call him anything else having only called him Reyes up till now. It was different. He liked it. “Did it bother you?”

"And I'll give you that, it'll be good to have something to focus on post-serum," he commented. He hadn't truly sat down to watch a proper movie in over a year, not since before he left for to join the military. Then it just wasn't something he had access to. Having free time and luxuries like this in SEP was strange, not unwelcomed but odd considering the strictness and highly classified nature of the program.

Fingers still idling over the remote he almost clicked on one, sort of wanting to watch one now until he remembered.

"Speaking of which, next rounds tomorrow. Probably best to get some sleep, you gonna pass out on the couch again?"

 

_"Calm down. 'Course it didn’t."_

_Gabriel swatted Jack's hand away from the remote and pointedly selected play._

_"But by all means, take off to bed if you can't handle it," he grunted, only mildly inwardly smug at the call-back._

_The generic lightning-strike, gothic-text title sequence for The Gingerdead Man ran for ten seconds before Gabriel conceded the joke and turned the TV off._

_Dependent on whatever the serum brought, it might be tomorrow's entertainment anyways._

_And, for once, Jack was right. They did need sleep._

_"Fuck off. Go lay in your cradle."_

 

Jack rolled his eyes unbelievably hard at Gabriel's choice of movie.

"You're actually kidding right? You think I'm gonna shit myself to something like that, you must have a really low opinion of me." he chuckled as he started to rise off the couch but promptly sat right back where he was at the last comment.

He almost wanted to stay up out of spite.

"I changed my mind, let's watch it." He said, snatching the remote and turning the TV back on. "You fall asleep on this damn couch and I'm not hauling your ass back to your own bed _or_ waking you up this time."

He let the movie start as he moved to the kitchen to grab a snack since the extra training he'd done had once again worked him up a ravenous appetite.

He sat back down with a pack of beef jerky.

 

_At Jack's return Gabriel balked slightly at the smell of processed meat. For someone who had been so obdurate about abstaining he wasn't doing too badly._

_"When they said 'include more meat in your diet', they didn't mean 'cut out everything else.'"_

_The movie's audio and picture was grainy but it had been shot post-2020 and was too idiosyncratic for filmmakers to want to invest money into restoring or remarking. In fact, the banal horror movie tropes was the sweet, sweet appeal._

_Didn't get anything like the 'put your gun down please' scene in modern cinema. Jack didn't seem to appreciate it by the glance Gabriel took at his face._

_"Oh, to be bedded by Jack Morrison. Bet that was everyones fuckin' dream back in high-school."_

_He sniffed and sunk down into the sofa, arms folded across his broad chest._

_"I don't need you to haul me back to my damn room."_

_As they watched his eyelids_ were _lowering, though. The movie visible through their shutters where his chin had sunk to rest on his clavicle. They were only twenty minutes in when he did begin to doze. It was only for thirty seconds, the sound of a scream rousing him before he could fall deeper asleep._

_Gabriel yawned loudly and pushed himself up, a couple bones at the base of his spine cracking as he stood on his toes and stretched._

_"Yeah, I'm out."_

 

Jack shrugged. "I still got catching up to do, haven't I?"

He'd polished off the entire packet within the first 15 minutes of the film.

"You'd be surprised," Jack glanced over, flexing his biceps and flashing Gabriel a teasing smile. Then, dropping his arm and focusing back on the movie he added, "Not that many guys actually but do you really want to talk about my high school sex life?"

With an inward chuckle Jack watched with amusement as Gabriel started to drift off beside him, unsurprised when he announced he was off to bed. Jack had been enjoying his company and his heart sunk a little to see him walk away, shutting the door behind him. But it was for the best, tomorrow was going to take its toll on the pair of them.

Jack considered following suit but although the movie was really, truly awful he found himself engrossed in it and before he knew it the credits were rolling.

So much for getting a full night's rest before getting stabbed and doped up on hell serum.

Standing and stretching his tense muscles Jack switched the TV off before turning in himself.


	4. Chapter 4

_ Apparently this was a lucky-dip affair. The serum was brutal, its temporary effects lasting, the reactions it could incite in abundance and there was no telling what precisely would happen when it began sifting through your bloodstream.  _

_ For Gabriel it was the same overwhelming heightened senses this time, but also paired with agitation; a gnawing restlessness that even resilient willpower couldn't restrain.  _

_ It often came with contradictory symptoms.  _

_ At first as much as he wanted to  _ move _ , do something,  _ anything _ , everything was such an assault on his senses that he was stuck with his eyes squeezed shut, sweat sticking his hat to his temples, grinding his teeth in their dimmed living room again. He was working himself up to make for the facilities basketball court, constructed for leisure, sweat some of this shit out.  _

_ Infinitely more distracting than that was the hot, heavy weight in his lower abdomen; arousal so potent that experimentally grinding the apple of his palm against himself had him sucking a breath through his teeth.  _

_ Gabriel had put on Chopped to distract himself whilst the interest his cock had taken at the paltry attention waned. He'd heard talk of other soldiers having similar experiences but it was entirely different firsthand. Intense.  _

_ Jack was late returning. Made sense that they'd keep him an extra ten minutes to see if this time would play out similar to his previous injection.  _

_ When he heard the door click, he knew it hadn't. _

 

"Glad to see the diet change has made a difference. You're improvement rate has been astonishing." The head doctor had let him go a bit after the others with a confident smile. 

The parting words were cycling around and around in his head as he exited the medbay  on unsteady feet, clutching the wall to keep himself upright. This round of shots had made his body feel incredibly light so much so that he felt he could almost be floating off the floor. His mind was almost completely blank and rebuffering every few seconds. 

"You look lost," a deep voice rang out behind him, startling him way more than it should have. A hand resting on his shoulder to steady him caused him to flinch.

Jack rolled his eyes when he realised it was McKenna, a highly ranked soldier, one of the older ones in the program.  He’d made a point to slip away quickly whenever the man was lingering in the gym or the locker rooms, there was no way to describe him other than predatory with his overfamiliar nature and complete lack of awareness of people’s physical boundaries. Jack didn’t know what it was about him that had piqued Kadens interest but it had been… more than unwelcome.

"I'm not, I'm just-" Jack looked around blinking, he actually had no idea where he was, he thought he'd been making his way back to the dorms but was clearly too disorientated to realise he’d ended up in a complete different sector of the building.

The offending hand had made its way to his nape, rubbing circles that made Jack bristle and Jack batted the hand away. "I was just uh- I was taking a detour. Fuck off McKenna." God his mind was so static he couldn't even finish a sentence properly. 

"Feisty." He heard the other mutter under his breath before continuing, "Don't worry sugar, you're cute when you're lost and confused. How about I escort you back to my room? My roommates landed himself in there for the night, so we can have a little privacy," Kaden gestured back to the way of the infirmary. His intentions clarified as he pressed ever closer into Jack’s personal space, intimidating form close enough that Jack could feel his hot breath prickle his skin.

A shudder ran through him, And Jack backed away from the others oppressive presence.

"Fuck off, if you want to ram your cock down someone's throat ask literally anyone else," He said before storming off and tactfully stumbling half way down the hall just trying to put as much distance between them as possible. 

By the time Jack figured out the labyrinth that was the SEP base and into their dorm room his body felt weird, dissonant in a way that he wasn’t sure was completely related to the serum. Not knowing what to make of it, Jack muttered a greeting to his partner, meandering around trying to sort his head out, trying to ignore the deep pull of his stomach towards the fridge but inevitably being unable to resist that urge. 

 

_ The door bumped ajar and then flew open as Jack careered in and the resultant slam as it shut should've been deafening but instead it filtered through as if he were underwater. It brought him back to head-pounding, hand-shaking reality.  _

_ "Some of us are trying to die quietly over here," Gabriel growled as he heard the other man begin to rummage through the fridge.  _

_ The room was warmer still with both of them enclosed within it, bodies pumped full of drugs, brimming with delirium.  _

_ Eventually the chewing began and with that combination Gabriel elected that now would be a good time to make for the courts. Even if he couldn't see straight.  _

_ Once in his room he didn't shut the door completely as he stripped to his underwear so he could hear Jack's response (or lack of) when he said, "Jesus, sounds like someone let a starved dog loose in the room." A glance through the gap revealed Jack's face, pupils pitch-black and blown impossibly wide even in the light of the fridge. Gabriel turned, stumbled a little, searched for something to change into.  _

_ The SEP regulation shirt was replaced with a looser tank devoid of the odd, uncomfortable stimulation of fabric on skin. _

 

Jack vaguely acknowledged Gabriel as he began assembling a sandwich with various cold cuts. 

He heard him call out, however, and looked up from the counter. And fuck, was that a sight. Of course, living in such close quarters, he'd seen Gabriel in states of undress before but with the serum coursing through his veins and his mind short circuiting he couldn't look away. He couldn't help but notice just how fucking attractive he was, the way his muscles curved, the muscles that were getting bigger and more defined by the day, the thick patch of hair trailing down his stomach. Tight fucking underwear that his honed in mind was sure it could almost  _ see _ through. 

Fuck. 

Jack's mouth went dry. His confused arousal from earlier was also still very much present. 

Fuck.. 

Snap yourself out of it Morrison. 

"Uh.." he said dumbly. "You going somewhere?" He'd hoped they could've hung out again, it was reassuring to have a warm, solid presence to help ground him when the serum was taking its effects on him. He even found himself wanting to join Gabe in watching his shit TV shows.

 

_ "Yeah. I'm gonna lose my mind cooped up in here."  _

_ For one, there was a disembodied rattling sound in his room. Like a man possessed he wheeled around, yanked his duvet off his bed, ducked to look beneath it.  _

_ He almost burst into peals when he stilled and realised it was his teeth chattering.  _

_ Ridiculous. Utterly, fucking ridiculous.  _

_ Gabriel had so much energy that it was- it was-- he didn't know how to describe how he was feeling. Affectionate? Angry? Despite how gelatinous his limbs felt he wanted to tear through the compound, knock someone out, break shit.  _

_ Horny, without a doubt. If he allowed his mind dominion it immediately went to bruising, libidinous, ragged sex. Figured sweating out a couple matches with whoever was currently functional enough to make it to the gym would have to substitute.  _

_ After he'd pulled on some shorts he shouldered through the gap in the door, moved to inspect the content of the fridge over Jack's shoulder.  _

_ "You mind saving me  _ some _ of the fuckin' food, Jack." _

 

His stomach gave another sharp growl. 

Jack’s expression turned sheepish, he coughed awkwardly as if he’d just been caught doing something he shouldn’t. Though he couldn’t figure out why he felt that way. “I’ll request some more stuff at the canteen before you get back, if you want.”

Eating was an easy task in this state, the actions repetitive and didn't require any thought other than to fill his stomach. Keeping check on how he was interacting with Gabriel however, did. 

With him in such close proximity now Jack couldn't stop glancing at him, getting eyefuls of tight muscles, slightly sweat damp skin, old scars that he still didn't know the story behind. He shouldn't be staring, Jack told himself. So he'd catch himself and look away only to forget and be staring again moments later, and the cycle repeated. When he wasn't staring he'd register other things, his sweet but musky natural scent, his steady breathing. Jack was consumed. 

He hadn't realised how dry his mouth had become or how the heated pressure below his stomach was growing, Almost feverish. He had to take a mental step back that turned into a physical one, cursing himself and drawing his eyes away.

 

_ "You'd better."  _

_ Usually Gabriel was so vigilant, his surroundings left unchecked. Even outside of combat he was observant by nature and for him to so belatedly notice Jack stealing glances revealed to himself the extent of the serum-high. Had any of the other symptoms not stressed it enough.  _

_ Jack had looked entranced, only looking, but Gabriel knew he was envisioning touching.  _

_ The thought crossed his mind to allow him, even encourage him where he was obviously curbing the impulse but not the fantasy. And then Jack back-pedaled, frantic in his haste to conceal, and Gabriel knew that it wasn't a possibility.  _

_ He didn't shit where he ate unless the circumstances were incredibly specific. Both parties had to be motivated by simple carnality, no strings attached, no overthinking. It was simple to him; the act meant nothing unless meaning was instilled into it. He wasn't here for that. And God  _ forbid _ , Golden Boy's propitious future just  _ couldn't _ be jeopardised over a cheap fuck. Though the serum urged otherwise.  _

_ Still, he'd looked fucking cute. Gabriel imagined standing behind where he sat, sliding his hand down his stubbled jaw and tilting it back so he could study the less-than-innocent thoughts behind his eyes again.  _

_ For obvious reasons, he hadn't.  _

_ Instead he grabbed a hoodie from his room, the thermoregulations fluctuations were a bitch, and went for the door before abruptly halting, movements erratic, unable to stand still.  _

_ "Leave me some cold cuts. Or else." _

  
  


“Yeah, yeah,” Jack rolled his eyes, the threats were unnecessary. He was going to do it anyway.

The post-serum process was boring without Gabriel. Or without company at least. It allowed Jack the solitude to dwell on what his body was going through, the aches, the pains, his pounding head. Distracting himself with some of the shows they now had access to helped for a while but his brain was unable to concentrate on the plot so he kept on getting lost. 

It made decent background noise to tamper out the loneliness  Even as his time was spent dancing back and forth from the fridge, picking at things as his stomach became insatiable and not just out of boredom. An hour later and a trip to restock was becoming more urgent, even as Jack’s gaze drifted to the raw mince Gabriel had requested for something or other…No, he couldn’t. That was a bad idea he shut off altogether.    


Jack sighed, lifting himself onto his shaky knees to make the trip out of the dorm.

The walk wasn't too bad, he took a few wrong turns out of confusion but he made it to the cafeteria to request specific items from the kitchen. As expected it took a bit of haggling to get the items he wanted (a confusing process while doped up on serum) but in end he was able to make his way back with two shopping bags of food. Strangely domestic for the military. 

He was chucking it all into the small fridge when he heard the door click open behind him. 

"God, finally you're back. I've been bored shitless."

 

_ Even with trembling fingers he was nailing those foul shots every time. Mid-conversation with Oscar, he let the basketball rebound off the wall and caught it in his hands. It smacked solidly into his open palms.  _

_ "I didn't come here to sleep with people, damn."  _

_ Gabriel repeated the exertion. His lip twitched upwards as, once more, it sailed through the net.  _

_ "But I'm not going to act like this shit isn't making me so  _ fucking _ horny."  _

_ "Then, are you down?"  _

_ \-  _

_ It wasn't that deep. Oscar was decent at layups and his ass was noticeable in the tight polyester shorts he wore. Seemed his were on the close-fitting side too when he'd caught the other man looking, very obviously, at his dick.  _

_ When he'd taken Gabriel's forearms, receptors tingling at the very innocent stimuli, and said, "How would you feel about coming mine and Ludford's room, watch a movie?"  _

_ Gabriel had looked at him for a long, long time. And replied with, "My room's probably closer. No point being impractical."  _

_ \-  _

_ Before he answered he paused and then ushered Oscar in. Of course he had to greet Jack with a chirpy, innocently immodest, "What's up, Morrison?"  _

_ Where Jack knelt he tracked him as he walked past and exited the scene. The door to Gabriel's bedroom swished shut behind him.  _

_ Jack looked to Gabriel, face the picture of puzzlement.  _

_ Gabriel raised his hands and shrugged. The movement could've been convincingly languid had his pupils not been so large they'd eclipsed the gold-brown in his eyes.  _

_ "If he's loud just crank up Texas Chainsaw. Wouldn't be the first time I've fucked to that."  _

_ When Jack's expression began morphing he raised an eyebrow, rolled his eyes, made for his bedroom.  _

_ "Relax. It's only for a fuckin' hour or so." _

 

A lump caught in Jack’s throat when the obvious context of the situation was made clear to him. 

Jack said nothing as Gabriel made his way through the shared space to join his companion, shutting the door firmly behind him. Shutting Jack out. 

It really wasn't any of his business, he told himself as he stared at the door from where he was now sat next to the open fridge. He didn't know  _ why _ it bothered him but he knew that it  _ did _ . Where the serum had made his head blank, numb to the world, it was now swarming. Emotions crashing down on him that he couldn't comprehend or even begin to decipher their origin. 

Muffled sounds made their way out of the room adjacent to him and Jack fled to his own room, misjudging his own strength and slamming the door behind him. It wasn't his business but that didn't mean he had to sit there and listen. His stomach lurched and he began to regret all that he had eaten that night for fear of bringing it back up.

Sure, Boswell was cute, Jack couldn't deny that in the slightest. He'd had a good opinion of him before but that was almost instantly replaced with resentment, why'd he have to go for Gabriel out of everyone? He was  _ Jack's _ partner.  _ That doesn't give you exclusive rights Jack, you train together, you're friends there's nothing more to it than that _ he had to remind himself, and above everything  _ It isn't your business.  _

He was jealous, he realised belatedly. 

Maybe he was more attached to Gabriel than he originally thought. 

The muffled sounds had started to grow louder, he considered Gabriel's earlier suggestion but threw it straight out the window. Like fuck was he staying here, the intense urge to flee had rooted itself in him and he had no reason to resist it. Jack left their dorm, quieter this time, and wandered the base until he found himself heading to the outdoor track and lost himself staring at the ink black sky.

The bases settlement was in such a remote area that the amount of stars visible in its depths was breathtaking. He'd had a similar but not quite comparable view from the fields in Indiana and watching the stars had always served to calm him down. 

It wasn't helping much this time as the pit in his stomach was festering uncontrollably.

 

_ Oscar's hair was afro and easy to ensnare his fingers into, the tight whorls crammed thickly between the partitions of his fingers. Gabriel used it like a rein to tug the other soldier back onto his cock, keep him in check every time he gasped too loudly. It only served to amplify.  _

_ Gabriel was breathing hard through his nose, sweat trickling down the grooves of his abdomen and dripping onto the other man's back where Gabriel was fucking him on his hands and knees.  _

_ "Reyes, Reyes-- Gabriel, I'm gonna' come--"  _

_ They went three times before Gabriel declared them done, unsteadily reached for his boxers down the side of the bed.  _

_ "I could seriously do with a smoke," he notified him as he retrieved the garment and pulled it on.  _

_ Oscar snorted. "Sheesh, you're one of those guys? Round four?"  _

_ "Naaah. Four times is taking the piss. I'm good."  _

_ "Boring. I'm not." _

_ "Like I give a shit. I've got earthquake eyes and it's giving me a headache. So. Vámonos."  _

_ Not to mention the way his thoughts felt like a slurry sloshing loosely in the dome of his skull. Gabriel flicked his hand dismissively and the other man pouted before standing, dressing, and gingerly walking to the door.  _

_ "That was fun, thanks."  _

_ "Yeah, it was. See you around."  _

_ \-  _

_ It was a while till Jack returned.  _

_ The clock on the TV read 11:03PM as Gabriel, unable to sleep, scrolled through media, starting the first five minutes of episodes, the first ten minutes of movies before he'd grow bored and move onto whatever next was on his queue.  _

_ His blood still rushed through his body at break-neck pace, the past couple hours a distant, drug-hazed dream. But, hey, at least he hadn't thrown up. Yet.  _

_ The cold cuts were staying down. Jack had requested them, as he'd asked, and he was eating them shirtless on the sofa when the other returned.  _

_ "Ah. Look what the cat dragged in." _

 

"Oh…’sup," Jack hadn't expected Gabriel to still be up by the time he got back two or so hours later. Wanting just to slip in to head straight to bed. 

He had debated staying out longer but the frigid night air was making the hypersensitivity the serum gave him become unbearable. Not having to face Gabriel tonight would've been the ideal, having still not been able to decipher and understand his own feelings towards him being the biggest reason. He didn't think he could have a normal conversation without how the way insides were constricting and seething in jealousy causing his voice to waver. Worse case scenario he hadn't wanted to come back and once again be forced to deal with the situation head on, find them still at it. But he couldn't avoid his own room forever. 

At least Boswell had apparently left. 

So he avoided eye contact, couldn't even force a fake chuckle at his welcoming comment. Instead he skirted around Gabriel completely trying desperately not to betray his emotions on his face as he went to grab a bottle of water.

 

_ The lack of light provided coverage but Gabriel didn't need sight to sense the tension thinning the air.  _

_ Neither made any comment. There was none to make.  _

_ They were partners designated to each other by whatever algorithm SEP had employed to pair recruits; a product of the system. They trained together. They spotted for each other in the gym. They watched old horror movies dopey on serum, apparently.  _

_ It didn't indicate any affinity. They were impermanent fixtures in each others life; the program would come and it would go and then Jack Morrison would be a political-military bigwig whos name he'd see in reports detailing his dauntless, puppeteered feats. Or that was the estimate he had for whatever tale the board had woven for the young soldiers future.  _

_ But when he glanced over his shoulder at their kitchen Gabriel found he didn't like the grim set to his face. A mask clearly masquerading for another emotion. He didn't like it.  _

_ 'Spit it out.' He almost said. Went to say it.  _

_ But Jack's bedroom door had closed behind him. And Gabriel picked up the remote and returned to switching through channels. _


End file.
